Vegetarian City Of Palitana With 900 Jain Temples On Its Hill

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Climbing over 3750 steps to the summit which is at an elevation of 7,288 feet, can be a really difficult task to most of us. But climbing the Shatrunjaya mountains Palitana in Gujarat is really worth the effort although it may take 2-3 hours.

As you reach the summit, you get to see the most important pilgrimage centre of Palitana, which houses a huge complex of 900 Jain temples. Palitana or Padliptapur as it was previously known, is also known as City of temples.

The whole mountain and the series of temples are considered most sacred for Jains. The elderly can opt for a Doli while the youngsters can try climbing the stretch. Except water food is not allowed while climbing. This place is known to bestow salvation and wipe out the karmas and hence people visit this temple complex at least once during their lives. About 863 temples are made of marbles. Since this place is divine, the priests do not allow anyone to stay overnight,

Barring Neminatha, the remaining 23 tirthankars are known to have visited these temples. Rishabha Tirthankara temple basically belongs to Svetambar Jains. Digambars have another temple dedicated to their use. During karthik Purnima, at the end of Chaturmas, devotees throng to this temple complex as it is a very holy month. At a particular place from the summit you can get thrilling views of the entire locale. A Chaumukh or four faced shrine was built in 1618 by a Jain merchant. Visiting all these temples takes time but keeps you really busy. Adinath temple is the biggest and the best temple here as it shows up intricate carving.

History

It took over 900 years starting from the 11th century to build the Palitana series of temples. In the 14th and the 15th century these Jain temples were destroyed during the Muslim invasion and later they were renovated about sixteen times and Saint Jinaprabhasuri revived the lost glory by rejuvenating them. November-February is the best time to visit this temple city.

The architecture of these temples is so beautiful that under sunlight the architecture looks like it is made of ivory. The images are made of marble and decorated with stone studded gold ornaments.

Digambar Temples

The Jain temple of the Digambars have nine shrines which are engraved with tirthankar idols. The Bhagwan Shantinath idol is 42-inch-tall, made in marble. In this temple you can find idols of Mahabharata characters like Bhima and Arjuna.

Vegetarian City Of Palitana

Temple building is a tradition with Jains and deserve credit especially for building the one on the Palitana. No one eats meat here and hence it was declared as the cent percent vegetarian city in 2014. For Jains the only gods are their Tirthankars as they have reached the pinnacle of knowledge and are detached from the worldly bonds. Jains have other clan gods and family deities. They believe that worship is the only thing that leads to nirvana.